Apraxia, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Auditory Processing Disorder, APD, Auditory Integration Training, Berard AIT

A 13 year old boy's success story by Linda Seiford, Berard AIT Practitioner and Mother, Minnesota. 03-23-2007.

"To date, he has gone through AIT 3 times, achieving measurable benefit each time....For the most part, though, he can be understood by most people most of the time (perhaps 95% of the time). And, now that he's older, if he isn't understood, he is able to communicate the message in a different way (using different words) so that his message gets across."

"My 13 year old son has apraxia, sensory integration dysfunction, auditory processing disorder, and, I believe, dyslexia. I wrote his "story" in "Sound of Falling Snow" edited by Annabel Stehli (Chapter 2 entitled "Matthew"). To date, he has gone through Berard AIT 3 times, achieving measurable benefit each time.

The first time he went through AIT (at about 7), his vocabulary increased. However, the biggest change seemed to be with cognition. As I wrote, "Concepts that had been so difficult suddenly seemed to make sense to him. His thought process seemed to encompass a broader range, and he understood the relationship between behavior and consequence" (p. 36).

The second time I put him through AIT, "the changes I observed in Matthew were focused in the areas of independence, sequencing, speech, and processing. All areas improved, and he achieved measurable growth in each" (p. 39).

Last summer (12 years of age), I put him through AIT again. The changes were measurable in handwriting, ability to copy what he sees to write, and reading.

He was diagnosed with severe apraxia at age 3. There was a lot of noise, some babbling, and occasional words, (usually talking in his sleep or when completely engrossed in play), but being able to repeat something was nearly impossible. We used sign language and picture symbols with him until he was about 5 or 6 so he could express himself. He had intense speech therapy 2 - 3 times per week with therapists well known for their work with pediatric apraxia until he was about 11 . . . and then I could tell he was just burned out and needed a break.

His speech now is very good. It declines somewhat if he's becoming ill, or if he's really exhausted.

For the most part, though, he can be understood by most people most of the time (perhaps 95% of the time). And, now that he's older, if he isn't understood, he is able to communicate the message in a different way (using different words) so that his message gets across. I still worry about many things with him, but speech and communicating with others has moved down the list.

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